General Membership meetings are for all adult, associate and youth squad members.
Prospective members in the squad are also welcome and encouraged to attend.
These meetings are important for transacting squad business, communicating and
clarifying information and meeting new members. We try and keep the meetings short
and focused and not go over items covered in other communication vehicles.
We ask that you carry out your responsibility as an interested member of the
organization and make every effort to attend these meetings.

JEVAC BBQ and dedication of new ambulance.
Sunday August 1, Noon to 5:00PM
All are invited to attend.
More details to follow

Ex-Captain Honored
Carlos Varon, Ex captain of Jamaica Estates-Holliswood-South Bayside VAC and member of Emergency Medical React Team 4942 was honored by the World Karate Union for Outstanding Contribution to the Martial Arts at its June 2004 annual awards ceremony.

Board of Directors Elections for 2004
Four (4) Associate member seats on the Board of Directors remain open. We will try and fill the vacancies at the July membership meeting.

On July 1, Jamaica Estates VAC took delivery on a used 1997 Wheeled Coach Turbo diesel ambulance bought from Montgomery, NY to replace Jamaica #5. The new Jamaica #6 will be put in service shortly, pending DOH inspection and radio installation.

Special Events Covered

BIG APPLE CIRCUS was at Cunningham Park from Friday 5/28/04 through Tuesday 6/8/04. All performances were covered this year. Thanks to Flushing Community VAC who assisted with medical standbys at three performances.
Jamaica Estates VAC did the remaining 18 shows. There were no medical incidents requiring transportation to a hospital.
Please refer to the photo section of our website (www.jevac.org) for the photo of “grandma” the clown sitting in the driver’s seat of the ambulance.

ST. JOHN's UNIVERSITY ALUMNI REUNION WEEKEND was held on Saturday 6/12/04 starting with breakfast at 8:30 AM and ending with a dinner dance from 8:00 PM to midnight. Flushing Community VAC covered 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM and we took over coverage to midnight.

QUANTUM FEET ROAD RUNNERS CLUB on Sunday 6/13/04 held its 5th Annual 5K Run/Walk & Children's Fun Run to benefit Stepping Stone Day School. 5K Run started at 9:00 AM and Children's Fun Run at 9:45 AM. Start & finish was at 189 Street & Union Turnpike. EMS coverage was normally coordinated by Emergency Medical REACT. One patient was transported to St. Joseph’s Hospital. One patient was RMA.

WINDSOR PARK COOP STREET FAIR was held on Sunday 6/13/04 on 75 Avenue between Bell Boulevard and 210th Street. We sent an ambulance and crew for medical standby and to do blood pressures,
conduct tours of the ambulance and to give out literature. Good friend to the ambulance corps and City Council member David Weprin was also present for the festivities.

Special Event Crews Needed

JAMAICA ARTS & MUSIC SUMMER FESTIVAL street fair will be held on Saturday 8/7/04 on Jamaica Avenue between Parsons Blvd. and 168 Street. On Friday evening 8/6/04 there will be a jazz concert in King Manor Park south of Mary Immaculate Hospital.

9/11 Emergency Services Memorial To Be Erected At Queens Borough Hall
Queens Borough President Helen Marshall hopes to erect a memorial at Borough Hall to honor the emergency service workers who died on 9/11. Aides to Marshall said she has no preconceptions about the design and plans to consult with firefighters, police and ambulance workers to get their ideas. The memorial is expected to be erected on the east side of the front entrance sometime after some renovations to the building are completed in the fall.

Ambulance Service In The Rockaways
The Rockaway peninsula, with a population of 106,000, normally has 1 paramedic unit and 4 BLS units assigned on overnight tours. Roxbury VFD and Rockaway Point VFD provide BLS ambulance coverage on the western end of the peninsula and in 2003 the Rock VAC began service covering Far Rockaway to the Marine Parkway Bridge.

If local resources are depleted backup ambulances from Mary Immaculate Hospital and Jamaica Hospital are sent south through Nassau County or Broad Channel to cover the area. The VFDs have mutual aid agreements with FDNY but are rarely called for assistance. Rock VAC has been unable to get FDNY to sign a mutual aid agreement.

A recent Daily News article reported on statements made by a Mary Immaculate paramedic on unit 54V tour 3 about being redeployed several times a week from Springfield Gardens to Rockaway and the 20 to 25 minute response time it can entail. This is in addition to leaving its normal area without ALS coverage. The news article reported an FDNY representative saying an ALS unit is redeployed only when the assigned ALS unit leaves the peninsula with a patient and BLS units would cover all emergencies in the interim. A Mary Immaculate EMS supervisor was interviewed and downplayed the issue by saying “All this man (the paramedic) is saying is that the system is working the way it’s supposed to work.” The system is working but the larger question is about the acceptability of a 25 minute ALS response time. That would only be solved by changing the deployment matrix to have 2 ALS units on the peninsula.

News About NYC Emergency Service Providers

FDNY will continue to maintain in the CFR-D program the blood pressure and rapid take-down provisions which were removed from the NYS DOH protocol.

HUNTER AMBULANCE and St. John’s Episcopal Hospital in Far Rockaway have started a basic life support ambulance service. Since January, the emergency ambulance with the names of Hunter and St. John’s stenciled across its sides travels the streets of the Rockaways, the Five Towns, and nearby areas. The ambulance service is available to people living in the community who have an emergency and wish to be taken to the hospital. The ambulance is available 24 hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week.

MARY IMMACULATE HOSPITAL has brought in two new executives, Rose Britt as VP of Operations and Robert Fanning as Executive Director, to bring needed changes to the facility. They will be focusing on reducing ER waiting time, adding some new programs, publicizing the orthopedic service and expanding admissions. The executives are from the management firm of Speltz & Weis and expect to serve about 18 months and then have long term management take over.

MEDISYS AMBULANCES operating out of Brookdale Hospital are now at the ALS level.

METROCARE AMBULANCE’s former Chief Executive Steve Zakheim is reported by Newsday to have pled guilty on 5/24/04 to a federal misdemeanor charge of giving an illegal campaign contribution to Brooklyn Democrat Noach Dear who was in 2002 was running an unsuccessful campaign against US Representative Anthony Weiner for a Queens-Brooklyn district. Zakehim faces up to 6 months in jail when he is sentenced. Felony charges have evidently been dropped.

PRIMARY CARE AMBULANCE SERVICE has upgraded from BLS to ALS level.

Courses
For a complete listing of upcoming basic and refresher EMT and CFR courses in the city please call the
Regional Emergency Medical Services Council of NYC at (212) 870-2301 or check their web site at www.nycremsco.org.
Information on Red Cross CPR courses is available by calling (800) 514-5103.

EMT courses are funded for active members of NYS Volunteer Services. All classes are at 1200 Douglaston Pkwy, Douglaston, NY.
This is Cathedral College’s Immaculate Conception Center located north of the Grand Central Parkway at the Cross Island Parkway.

NEW JERSEY STATE FIRST AID COUNCIL 2004 CONVENTION, Thursday, October 14, 2004 through Sunday, October 17, 2004 at the Nevele Grande Resort & Country Club, Ellenville, NY. For information check the web site at www.njsfac.org

VITAL SIGNS CONFERENCE 2004, Friday 10/29/04 to Sunday 10/31/04 at the Buffalo Convention Center, Buffalo, NY. Sponsored by the NYS DOH Bureau of EMS. Includes general sessions, workshops, exhibits and awards banquet. For information contact Donna Gerard at (518) 402-0996 extension 3 or check the web site at www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/ems/vitalsigns.htm